Monday Cassidy, Jack and I went to Shogun for sushi. It was my second time being there and it was really great. It’s not as expensive as Mobos but it’s really hard to say which one I like the best. After sushi we went to Santa Cruz Skilled Nursing and this time it was really comfortable and we hung out and got to talk to a lot of people. One guy that I have seen in a couple of the concerts and briefly said hello to I talked for quite a while. He knows a lot of the same people than I do at Valley Medical Center. I met another lady that I talked to for a while that was really nice also, I love getting to know all of these people but I can never remember names. I invited the guy to the next Support group meaning and I hope I see him there, I will definitely see him at the concert this week. On Tuesday I decided to take Robby for a cruise before I got too hot, I never seem to make it out of here as early as I would like. It was pretty hot but it’s always cooler by the lighthouse and along the ocean, the problem with that is we do have to come back. We went for a pretty long walk and by the time we got home Robby was so hot that he just came through the door and laid down for about 10 or 15 minutes before he got up to get a drink of water, I didn’t realize that he was so hot. We invited a bunch of friends over for cribbage and dinner. My mom and my aunt made lasagna and we had a killer salad and garlic bread, not to mention a bunch of munchies and fruit. We only had enough time to play two games but I won both, I love winning but mostly I love to listen to everybody give each other a bad time. Wednesday Teresa took my chair into ATG rehab to get fixed. The sidewalks and the streets around here are so bumpy and uneven that my chair was squeaking and every time I go over a bump it shuts off. I was afraid that something was loose and I definitely don’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere, I haven’t got my cell phone with me these days, especially not in this heat. They also tightened up my arm rests and fixed the head rest so it can be taken off easily to get my hair cut and washed. Heather came by a couple of times to hang out and see what I have in my refrigerator. Last Friday she fell and broke/fractured her left wrist so she is having to take an easy again, she was just about ready to get her boot off of her right leg after that operation. She is having some really bad luck. It was really great to see her and she was surprisingly in really good spirits. Thursday I had another appointment at Hanger prosthetics. I got my braces fixed and he wanted me to bring in my night braces and a couple of pairs of shoes that I usually wear. Basically since I have had a sore on my heel I have only worn my slippers so I brought in a couple of pairs that I would like to wear. I’m supposed to only where the braces for a short time and work my way back up to wearing them all day but I always forget to take them off or there’s nobody here to take them off for me. Forgetting to take them off was actually a good thing because my heels have never looked better, I’m so excited. For the first time since my injury, knocking on wood, I have not had any skin breakdowns at all. After my appointment with Hanger I had an appointment with Claudia to get my hair cut and nails done. I took a picture of what I would like my hair to look like, he really never looks like you would like it to look no matter what. Friday Teresa and I went to the restaurant at the beginning of the wharf called the ideal restaurant. I have gone there a couple of times and it is pretty good. This time I had a blue cheese hamburger with onion rings on it and tries, it was AWESOME. After dinner we went to see starship with Mickey Thomas and I was also AWESOME. One of the first concerts I have seen at the beach were they actually almost played the full hour of the first show, usually they only play for about 40 minutes. Next week is going to be the last concert of the series. Saturday I took Robby for a long cruise through the lagoon, to the lighthouse, along the boardwalk and back home. Steve came over from across the street to say hello and I thought I kept hearing voices upstairs and pretty soon Kelly came down, what a really nice surprise. Bailey, her dog, had a skin infection and of course her vet is in Florida so she brought Bailey to see Robby’s vet. They gave her some medication and some medicated shampoo and said to come back if there was any problems, I have the best vet in the world. Kelley’s husband, Tom, said that all he had to do was mention Robby’s name and they got an appointment right away... Robby has such a great reputation around here. We went to pet Smart and then to cost plus and then came back and got ready to play cribbage. We invited some friends over but Kelly was way too tired and she went upstairs to sit down and just fell asleep. She just came back from Oregon where she took some pictures for Harry and Dave’s, she is a food stylist. She was really nervous and exhausted but said that it went really well. On Sunday I heard familiar voices in the living room, it was Charlie, Terry and Mondo. What a really great surprise, I have not seen them in so long. Robby and Mondo only met once before, and they got along really well, and they got along like they were never a part... it is so cute to watch them together. There was no puppy play date. Dr. Owens daughter is a derby girl and they had an event going on downtown. Kelly and I met Teresa up the hill and we had Thai food, it was really good. After that I came home, had a bath and went to bed.
Monday Cassidy and I went to Mobo’s for lunch, I LOVE that place. After that we took Robby over to Santa Cruz skilled nursing and cruised around and visited with people for a while, I’m starting to feel really comfortable there and getting to know some really good people. Before we went to lunch I took Robby on a really long cruise through the lagoon, through the park, through the boardwalk and along the reservoir. It was a really long cruise and that was perfect with my timing, it took about an hour. Cassy came by with Jack and Moose, her brother and their new puppy and Moose and Robby played for awhile, Robby was exhausted and slept really well.
Wednesday I took Robby to the vet because he was scratching his ear a lot and it smelled really bad. He didn’t look like he was in that much pain but he had a really bad ear infection deep in his ear, so deep they said the best way was to sedate him and clean it out. I really missed him being around and I kept looking for him everywhere I went. He was really groggy the rest of the night but was his old self the next day. He wasn’t listening to me very well and I was wondering if he was testing, I felt really bad when I found out he had such a bad infection.
Thursday I took my van in for an oil change and to get the easy lock system taken out. I decided not to put it on my new chair because it is really low to the ground and I get hung up on so many things. The easy lock system is in the front where I park my chair and it just keeps tearing up the front tires on my wheelchair. Thursday afternoon Teresa and I went to get Bellà and we took Robby and Bella to the elementary school to play, they always have such a good time and it is so cool to watch them... puppies at play. On
Friday I took my braces, AFO’s to hangar prosthetics to figure out why I keep getting a sore on the back of my heels. He heated them up and push them out a little more but didn’t think that was the problem. I go back next Thursday with my night braces and a couple of pairs of shoes so we can hopefully find out what the problem is. The concert on the beach Friday was Papa Doo run run, Teresa and I are not going to go but we decided to and had a really good time. On the way back I ran into a lady who crochets hat’s, I bought one for her the week before and loved it. When I bought the first one she was making one in camouflage colors so I asked her to make one for me and she said she would, I’m so excited to see what it looks like.
Saturday was our third support group. We thought there would be more people than there were but it was a really nice turnout, I think if it was any bigger it wouldn’t be as personal and I just love getting to know everyone. We did have two new people. A couple who live in Mountain View and are thinking of retiring here and a young man and his family, it is so cool to see a family so supportive. The time always seems to go by really fast and we never run out of subjects to talk about.Sunday I went with my brother, his daughter and their friend to the beach for a while. Stanley and I had crab Louie salads on the deck while we watched the kids play in the water, it was a really nice afternoon. I came back and Teresa and I went to get Bella to take to the park. We were there for a couple of hours and got to meet about 10 new puppies, it is so cool to see everybody getting along. Dr. Owens will be back on Tuesday, it was so good for Robby and Bella to get together a couple of times and play, Robby is really worn out but feeling so much better since he got the infection taken out of his ear.
Monday I had an appointment at Dominican rehab with Andre to finally get the laterals put on my chair, we have been trying to do this for a long time. One of them fit on the frame of the chair but the other one couldn’t be put on without modifying the back of the chair. Apparently Andre could not find anybody to do it so he was going to bring in his tools the next day and do it himself, he is such a neat guy. After we left we went to get something to eat at KFC, I have not had a twister for a long time. We went to Santa Cruz skilled nursing so Robby could visit with the residents, I decided to take off his vest when we got there so I wouldn’t have problems with him trying to visit people outside of the care facility. Robby really loves all the attention.Tuesday I took Robby for a really long cruise to the boardwalk and to the wharf, it is good practice to make sure he ignores the people. It’s really hard for me to say no to people that want to pet him but I have learned that is best for Robby and she is my main concern. We went back to Dominican rehab so Andre could put the other lateral on my chair, it really felt good and I think it’s going to help a lot. I had laterals on my other chair but I can’t remember why I took them off. Teresa and I picked up Heather and we went to have Greek food. The first place that we went was closed so we went to another place and the food was really good. By the time we ate the appetizers and the salad we were all full so we ended up taking our dinner home. I ordered a Greek style ribs and took a few bites, it was really good and I cannot wait until lunch tomorrow.Wednesday was pretty uneventful, I took Robby for a couple of cruises around Santa Cruz. We ended up at pet Smart looking for ideas to cage in my motor on my pond so it doesn’t suck everything up into it. Thursday Robby and I hung out with Trish, Noah and Bean from around the corner in the purple house. Robby and Bean have puppy play dates every once in a while and they have a really good time, Robby always has a good time when playing with other puppies. After the puppy play date Cassidy took me over to Pet Smart to get a couple of things. I’m looking for something to cover the motor/pump in my little pond/waterfall. It keeps getting leaves and pond debris stuck in it, that along with the Raccoons knocking stuff into it is just making it a mess. I found a cheese cloth bag with a drawstring that I thought would fit but it was too small, we tried cutting it but that didn’t work so back to the drawing board. She also took me over to Costco to get a couple of things that I needed there and on the way back we stopped at Dave’s albacore and got crab rolls, they were awesome. Friday Heather Made a killer dinner of calamari and prawns, cauliflower, stuffed baked potato, quinoa and green beans... as you can imagine it was AWESOME. Teresa and I stopped at the Ideal Restaurant at the beginning of the wharf for drinks and calamari Before we headed off to the concert on the beach. Tonight was the Spin Doctors and they put on a really great show. The lead singer was so entertaining and I remembered a couple more songs than I thought I would. Teresa got a new camera so we got some really awesome pictures. On the way home we saw Heather, Linda, Alex and a couple of the neighbors hanging out in front of Heather’s house so we stopped by to visit for a while and take some pictures. Heather has some really good friends.
Saturday ended up being a long morning and I was really tired so I stayed in bed. I don’t know why everybody makes a big deal about me staying in bed, it’s really annoying and it makes me feel lazy. The first thing everybody says when they walk in the room is “oh, you didn’t get up today?” I don’t even know what to say to that because to me the answer is so obvious. I watched a couple of movies and my niece Alexia and a couple of her friends Mike and Ayla came down to visit for a while. I think mostly I feel guilty when I stay in bed because of Robby but he’s just laying on his bed resting, why can’t people just relax and accept it like Robby does?
Sunday we didn’t have puppy play date so I decided to take Robby for a nice long cruise. We started down towards the boardwalk and it was so crowded so I decided to go to the wharf. I didn’t realize until I got down to the end that they were having a Hawaiian festival. They have a lot of arts and crafts and Hawaiian massage tables set up. I sat and listened to the music for awhile, it was really beautiful and calming. We cruised around for a while and then came back and went to Ross, I LOVE Ross because you never know what you’re going to find. While I was there a guy walked up and asked me if he could keep me in his prayers, I didn’t really know what to say. Sometimes when strangers approach you you get that creepy I want to run away feeling, I didn’t get that with him at all. I didn’t know what to say so I said sure and he started praying right there in the store, I thought he meant at home. It was very short and he was very sweet. I finally got my porch moved around and I love it, before it just looked really crowded. I love my place more and more every day.
Monday I went to Santa Cruz skilled nursing and Robby and I visited with the residents, I was really nervous the first couple of times because I didn’t really know what to do but I just cruise around and talk to people and let them visit with Robby. Janet, Corinne and two of her friends Amber and Tess Wanted to go play on the beach so we hung out for awhile and then went out to have a really nice dinner at Kianti’s downtown.
Tuesday was Robby’s bath day but they were done really early, when I went to pick up Robby he was still really wet so we went for a long cruise to dry off and then came home and put on his vest and then we went for another long walk.
Wednesday I went to see Claudia to get my fingernails and toenails did and then Robby and I went for a cruise. When I came home I watched Avatar with my mom, it was a really good movie. Thursday Cassidy to a sushi buffet. We got there just as it opened so everything was really fresh. I accidentally dropped a potsticker on the ground right next to Robby and he just looked at it and laid his head back down, I was so proud of him and the restaurant owner was very impressed. Then we went to bed Bath and beyond to get some non-skid cushions for my dining room table, they look really nice and they match the couch. After that we went over to Ross and went crazy buying Halloween decorations, everyone said I had enough last year but I always think we should add something new. I LOVE Halloween.Friday I took Robby for a cruise, a long one because I knew I would be leaving him at home while I went to the free concert on the beach. Tonight was flock of seagulls are. They only did one song that I knew but they put on a really good show. As usual there was people taking advantage of the section that was marked for disabled people. I have been e-mailing somebody from the boardwalk but I realized tonight that really won’t do any good. In the first e-mail the lady assured me that the section for disabled people was first-come first-served, no seats could be saved and we are allowed one caregiver for each person with a disability. The e-mail that I got tonight said that they were not concerned with people leaving a couple of chairs to mark their places for three or more hours because that probably meant that they were on the boardwalk getting something to eat, riding the rides or playing games. At this point there really isn’t anything else for me to say.Saturday I went on a cruise with Robby but it seemed like every direction that we went was being blocked. They close down the lagoon to clear out all of the Thule grass and there was some kind of race going on in the soccer Park, it was kind of cold anyway so we just came back and decided to call it a day.
Sunday was Puppy play date at the beach. Usually we go to the elementary school at this time we decided to go to the dog Beach on Westcliff Drive. There ended up being about eight dogs and they all had such a great time. Robby found a cute little pit/lab puppy named Lucy and they had the best time, they were playing tug-of-war with seaweed and Lucy would fall to the ground and Robby would drag her around. All of the dogs that were there at the neatest personalities, I think we’re going to change our weekly puppy play date to the dog Beach. The dogs get really stinky and wet but have a really good time. I ran into the Lady that owns Robby’s grandma, I seem to run into her a lot on Westcliff. It is always really great to see her, next time she is going to call so we can get together and let the puppies play. Tom & Kelly left a message before we left that they were going to be in town so on the way back home we called and they were still here so we went to Costco and got some raviolis, a salad and garlic bread... Costco has the best garlic bread ever. We ate dinner and Tom and Kelly decided to stay the night, I really miss having them around. My nephew and a bunch of his friends spent the day at the beach on Monday so they spent the night to get some rest before they drove home.
Monday Cassie, Heather and I went to see Salt, awesome movie.Tuesday We had a group of friends over for dinner and Cribbage. Kelly made lasagna and it was so good, she also made a salad and garlic bread... also killer.
Wednesday Tom and Kelly took me to San Francisco for the day. They have lived there off and on through the years and that’s where they got married, it’s really nice to go there with somebody that knows their way around. The weather was PERFECT, it was 70 and just enough wind to keep it cool. We had a really nice lunch and sat out on the pier and just enjoyed the day and each other’s company.
Thursday I went back to bed. I was supposed to go to Santa Cruz skilled nursing to visit but my whole body just turned red and I didn’t feel right so I went back to bed. After thinking about it all day the only thing I did different was take niacin so I think that had to be it. I looked it up online and there is even a name for it “niacin flush” I think I won’t take niacin anymore but I’m really glad that I know what it was.
Friday Was the free concert on the beach, Eddie Money. This is the second time that I have seen him on the beach and he is never disappointing. He played for the full hour, usually the bands play about 40 or 45 minutes... I hear that a later show is always better. One of the best concerts so far. I saw the activities director for the Santa Cruz skilled nursing there with a group of people, they were all sitting behind the fence of where the designated people with mobility problems are supposed to sit. Again there was about five people who came really early, I was there at 3 PM and saw the empty chairs, and left chairs and then came back just before the concert started. I didn’t think this was fair because they just walked in and sat down. The activities director said that she talked to security about it but it didn’t look like much was done. One couple brought their daughter and an additional wheelchair and the man and the daughter didn’t even stay for the show so there was too empty chairs.
Saturday I took Tom and Kelly to Ristaurane Italiano. Teresa took me there last year for my birthday and it was AWESOME. We all enjoyed what we ordered very much and the stuffed mushrooms were also the best. I wanted one of them to order Cioppino so I could at least see what it looks like, I think it would be way too much work if I ordered it myself. I saw a couple of people ordered calamari, I will definitely be on our menu next time.
Sunday my mom made bean soup and it was really good. We also had a salad and garlic bread. My sister-in-law, my niece and two of her friends came down to spend the night, their last hurrah before school starts.
